Max Brown To Topline Fox Adventure Drama Series ‘Hieroglyph’

EXCLUSIVE: After a long, long search and multiple rounds of testing, British actor Max Brown has been cast as the lead in Fox‘s 13-episode action-adventure drama series Hieroglyph, from 20th TV and Chernin Entertainment. Set in ancient Egypt, where fantasy and reality intertwined, it follows Ambrose (Brown), a notorious thief who is plucked from prison to serve the Pharoah (Reece Ritchie), navigating palace intrigue, seductive concubines, criminal underbellies and even a few divine sorcerers. Brown, repped by UTA, Luber Roklin Entertainment and UK’s United Agents, most recently co-starred on the first season of the CW drama, Beauty And The Beast as medical examiner Evan Marks. He previously starred on Showtime/BBC’s The Tudors and BBC’s Spooks (aka MI-5).

17 Comments

So this is a period piece White Collar? Wonder how they use Mozzie’s character?

Blake • on Feb 28, 2014 11:03 am

Yes, I’m sure Brown resembles many ancient Egyptians. They shared a similar phenotype to northern Europeans.

jason • on Feb 28, 2014 11:03 am

Well Egypt (like the entire North Africa and Middle East region) is a mix of people with different skin tones. The majority has brown skin but you do find people with white skin and caucasian features.

King of the Interns • on Feb 28, 2014 11:03 am

I wonder who would leave ironic, unnecessary, pseudo-intellectual comments if all of Hollywood’s interns and “under-appreciated” artists just disappeared?

heyyyyy • on Feb 28, 2014 11:03 am

They should shoot the show in black and white. That is a damn fine picture.

Frank • on Feb 28, 2014 11:03 am

It takes a bonafide badass to go out there and test for stuff multiple times, be put on hold, go through the process of waiting and crushing it in front of the studios and networks. Unless you’re an actor or know an actor who has went through this exhaustive process, you can’t appreciate what an accomplishment it is. Good for him and congrats.

whatever • on Feb 28, 2014 11:03 am

So what? All actors do that. If they’re not up to it, they can wait tables for a living. If you want to praise someone for grit and perseverance in their career, how about firefighters, nurses, teachers?

whitewashing again! • on Feb 28, 2014 11:03 am

Sorry, that sepia-toned photo does not disguise the guy’s essential obvious glaring whiteness.

Alex • on Feb 28, 2014 11:03 am

I’m all for the best actor for the job, but they were doing so well casting POC that part of me can’t help but be disappointed.

George • on Feb 28, 2014 11:03 am

All the other casting were diverse. Yet as usual the execs afe afraid no one will watch a show without a white male hero to anchor it. Anyways Fox is recent genre feel somewhat halfa$$ed. I really haven’t enjoyed a 1 hour drama on their network since the Cancelation of The Chicago Code.

Matthew C. • on Feb 28, 2014 11:03 am

So they end up with the White Guy anchoring the show.

Great to see them commit to diversity casting.

Honey Bunny • on Feb 28, 2014 11:03 am

Tried to read the pilot for this show and couldn’t get past page ten. It’s set in ancient Egypt yet all the characters were speaking contemporary hipster-speak. Totally confused as to why FOX ordered this straight to series.

Anonymous • on Feb 28, 2014 11:03 am

Not the first person who has said this about the script. If you’re not going to commit to the story using proper dialogue, what’s the point?

JosephFinney • on Feb 28, 2014 11:03 am

I bet Elizabeth Taylor didn’t have to put up with this crap when she booked Cleopatra! Bitter people need to learn to be positive, negative energy=bad karma.
Brown is a fantastic actor and fought hard for this role, good for him!

Meg • on Feb 28, 2014 11:03 am

Silly me. I thought FOX might actually commit to casting appropriately. It’s disappointing to say the least, but I guess I can’t be surprised. Now we’re just going to get another show where all the brown people move and dance around the white guy. So more of the same, I guess. What a shame.

That’s not to say anything of this actor’s talent. I’m putting the burden squarely on FOX here.

K. Yan • on Feb 28, 2014 11:03 am

I will never understand why people insist in rewriting history and only portraying it in a way that makes them comfortable. If they casted nothing but white people to retell Dynasty stories I would be pissed, black people must be upset with this. Like we’ve known for a long time that those people in ancient times were mostly dark brown. Welp, we’ll see when it airs!

bgp • on Feb 28, 2014 11:03 am

LOL!!!

I knew it……When it came to casting the lead characters,they were going to have European actors playing those roles. Always happens,if the lead characters are to be Native American/Semitic/Egyptian,then casting will have those actors playing those roles.

I was excited at first with the casting,but they dropped the ball once again. Not going to watch this series at all.